Fewer 'hipsters' are flipping houses, RealtyTrac says

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Significantly fewer people in the so-called hipster age group between 25 and 34 are entering the U.S. housing market, a recent survey found.

Online marketplace RealtyTrac said Thursday that home ownership among the "hipster" ages fell to 41 percent in 2012, down from a long-term average of 46 percent, which includes percentages from 1982 to the present.

The peak of home ownership for 25-34-year-olds was in 2004 at 49 percent, RealtyTrac said Thursday.

In hard numbers, if the participation percentage worked its way back to average, approximately 2 million more people in the hipster age group would be homeowners currently, the company said.

Instead, a Pew Research Center study found that many 25-34-year-olds were riding out the hard times by living with their parents.

While the housing market is suffering for lack of participation, the hipster age group as a class is traditionally an ambitious, eager group that has not quite settled into one neighborhood yet. As such, they are traditional participants in house-flipping, a practice of buying homes and selling them quickly, generally after a few repairs are made and the property is spruced up.

"Ultimately, a successful hipster flipping strategy ends with the bottom line profit potential in each market. U.S. single family homes flipped in 2013 provided an average gross profit of more than $58,000, up from $45,000 in 2012," RealtyTrac said.

Profits vary, naturally. In a list of the top 20 cities for home-flipping, RealtyTrac said average gross profits for house flippers ranged from $34,600 in Aurora, Co., to $210,200 in Fairfax, Va.

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